Rush Of Flames
by Toffkat
Summary: Cream!" she screamed as loudly as she possibly could. "Cream! Where are you?" Blaze desperately tore through the wreckage, paying no heed to the tears falling from her eyes or the sharp metal slicing into her hands as she searched.. Sonic Rush adaptation.


**Author's Note:** Here we are then! An adaptation of Sonic Rush, quite possibly in my top five awesome games of all time. To forestall potential questions, yes, once I'm done with this there is almost definitely going to be a sequel/SRA adaptation. This is gonna be focusing slighty more on Blaze's story, and if you can't figure out who's in this prologue... you don't get a cookie. _Muahahaha-_ _{coughcough}. _=3_  
_And please, if I look like I'm about to abandon this fic, send me a bunch of _'wherethehellisthenextchapter?!RAAAAGGHHH!!'_ PMs. Those and reviews make me write faster =). As always, constructive critisism is much welcomed, and please enjoy! =D

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**Disclaimer:** I don't own Sonic & Co. They belong to SEGA. The closest I come to owning them is a Sonic plushie... does that count?

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[Prologue] Childhood Memories

Scarlet. Cerulean. Amber. Jade. Ivory. Cyan. Amethyst.

Staring into the depths of the emeralds upon the shrine, it was as if the last five years had never happened, as if she was only nine years old again and the war had only just begun.

Five years... it had really been that long since she'd become an orphan, since she'd become the ruler of her mother's kingdom?

Five years since 'Doctor' Eggman Nega had reappeared, insane and hellbent upon destruction and conquest?

Her golden eyes reflecting the glittering light of the Sol Emeralds, it didn't seem as if it had been that long at all.

--XOX--

_Chaos. Utter chaos._

_Screams reached her ears from every direction, terrified sounds. Perhaps they were her own, lost in the confusion._

_The smoke and dust filled the air. She couldn't see, it was hard to breathe. A violent fit of coughing racked her body._

_Falling stone blocks and wooden beams were all around her, the once beautiful palace crumbling to pieces. Grit stung her eyes, making them water._

_Salty tears began to fall, wept in terror and in loss, and because of the numbing feeling that she would never see her mother again._

_What had happened? She had no idea. Flames licked at the intricately woven tapestries, devoured the ornate paintings of her bloodline._

_She was so very frightened. Something had frozen her in place, unable to move from the spot on the floor to which she'd been knocked after the initial tremor that had shaken the foundations._

_Run. A primal instinct, telling her to get away, get away from the danger, get away as fast as possible by any means._

_To get away while it was still possible to do so._

_The lilac-furred feline ran._

--XOX--

The princess turned her head away from the shrine, trying to suppress the bitter memories of Nega's first attack. It refused to be forgotten, always lingering in her mind.

Once she'd fought the unruly emotions down, the feline sat beside the emeralds and closed her eyes. She cleared her mind, then began to let her thoughts drift without definite focus - meditation was calming and strengthening, and it helped her to maintain the calm facade she wore at almost every waking moment.

Almost an hour had elapsed before she stirred again, one lilac ear flicking towards a high pitched whining sound, barely audible, but in the silence it was deafening.

The feline's eyes snapped open, but were immediately narrowed to slits because of the bright white light that seared them.

The light had no discernable source, but hovered about 30 feet away from the shrine on the opposite side to where she was sat. Slowly she stood, wary for anything potentially hostile or that might intend to take the Sol Emeralds, but before she could make a move, an indistinct shape appeared in the light, becoming more defined and solid with every passing second.

As it came closer and moved away from the light that didn't seem to be dying away, the feline could make out what it was.

_Nega! How in the world did he get here? He's tried but never succeeded before...!_

But wait... the closer the man came, the princess saw the minute differences - the glasses, the colour of the bodysuit... What was going on here?

More importantly, what was this Nega look-a-like doing here, at the Sol Emerald shrine, to which only the guardian was permitted access?

Narrowed amber eyes followed his progress; he was definitely approaching the shrine, though he didn't seem to have noticed her yet.

The feline stepped past the emeralds and padded slowly down the steps that led to the shrine, halting at the bottom. There, she held up one hand to shoulder height beside her face, where it erupted into flames that flickered over her glove and fur, yet didn't harm her.

The man in the floating vehicle stopped in front of her, seemingly slightly wary of her ability to conjure fire. They stared at each other for a moment.

"It would be wise of you to leave." The lilac cat spoke first, a warning note in her voice.

"My dear princess, I thank you for your concern-" Behind his dark glasses, unseen by the feline, his eyes glinted with slight amusement. "-but I assure you, I shall be fine here."

"I was not displaying concern for your wellbeing. Now, leave." As if to underline her point, the flames resting in her palm flared to twice their size before settling again.

"Of course, if you wish it. I shall go, in a moment. Perhaps I could take a closer look at those Sol Emeralds beforehand?"

The cat's amber eyes flashed dangerously; she could see this man's motive clear as day. "No. You may not. Neither you, nor anyone else may 'take a closer look' at the Sol Emeralds. I will not allow it."

"Oh, really?" It wasn't spoken sarcastically, quite the opposite; it was said with the air of someone genuinely interested. "I'm afraid I'll have to dispute your claims on that point."

Some part of her subconscious realized the implications of that statement and the lilac-furred feline spun around on one heel, letting her gaze fall upon the shrine. The emeralds still rested upon it, but they were bathed in a pale blue glow, and even as she watched, they faded from sight.

Whirling back around to face the now smirking human, the princess glared at him as she watched him holding up one of the seven emeralds for her to see, the violet one.

"I must say, I am very grateful to you for these powerful gifts."

Golden eyes aflame, she leapt for the hovering spherical machine, but it was already gone, moving at a breakneck pace towards the light where it had come from.

With all seven of the Sol Emeralds.

With a fierce look upon her face, she darted after the man who dared to lay hands upon the emeralds, the heels of her faux-fur-trimmed shoes barely touching the ground as she moved at her full speed.

She only considered what the light might have been when the man had already disappeared within it, and by then, it had swallowed her too.

The last thing the guardian of the Sol Emeralds saw before she lost consciousness was blinding whiteness.

The last thing she felt, the sensation of falling.

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Bit short, but then again it's only the prologue to get the ball rolling. _(Hands out cookies)_ Refreshments will be served every chapter ;). Reviews are much loved!


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